John N. Loughborough lived at a time when men went forth fearlessly to proclaim the three angels' messages, often traveling from place to place on foot or by borrowed conveyance, not knowing where they were to sleep at night or how they or their families would be fed and clothed. He was born in Victor, New York, a village on the stage line between Albany and Buffalo. John's grandfather had been a soldier in General George Washington's army in the American Revolution. Grandson John remembered the incident of George Washington's father telling him, "Son, make up your mind that if there are but two men going to heaven, you will be one of them, and live accordingly." During his 92 years he lived accordingly to this advice.